Score one for the backyard farmers' and chickens of West Brandywine

A vote last week by the West Brandywine supervisors represents a victory of sorts for the rural traditions of local farming and food production that make Chester County the special place to live that it remains ... and for the so-called “backyard farmers” like Natasha and Wayne Kearns who want to be responsible for their own sustenance.

After a year of discussion and 11 drafts, supervisors passed a new ordinance for the keeping of animals that allows more than six chickens in two-acre residential lots. The final vote taken recently comes a year after the Kearnses were first notified of a neighbor’s complaint that they had violated the existing ordinance by raising too many chickens.

Those who thought they could force their views on the Kearnses and others in the township were putting their eggs in the wrong basket, one might say, or counting their chickens before they hatched.

The Kearns will add up to 17 chickens to their backyard coop and run on their 1.84-acre property. They hope new fowl will produce dark chocolate, turquoise, light blue, pink and white colored eggs for food, donations to the local food bank and for trade. That, we think, is a great idea. Dozens of concerned residents and the Kearnses attended more than 20 public meetings to support a return to an agricultural lifestyle that sometimes runs contrary to those seeking a more suburban-living type experience.

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“It was great to see local government at work,” Natasha Kearns said. “It was not just about us, it was about the community enjoying agricultural-style living.” The Kearnses’ five children are 9 to 18 years old and home-schooled. They listened intently during the meetings regularly lasting several hours.

“It gave them a little taste of how township government works,” Wayne Kearns said about his children. “It was a lesson in civics,” Natasha Kearns said. “They saw that the voice of the residents of this community was heard.”

Supervisor Joe Obernier Sr. said the process was a highlight of his 22-year stint as supervisor.

“It took a long time but the people who were the most affected stuck it out, kept coming for the meetings,” Obernier said. “With every draft they could tell us what was good and bad about it. And they were pleasantly surprised that we’d listen to them and collectively change our minds.”

Five chickens are now permitted on lots of more than 20,000 square feet, with an additional chicken allowed of each 5,000 additional square feet of lot size. No more than 24 chickens may be kept on properties of up to four acres. With township permission, in addition to the new limits set on full-grown fowl, residents will be allowed to raise chickens from eggs with an incubator for 4-H and other youth projects.

Perhaps more important than the chicken victory is the renewed sense of faith the Kearnses have found in their local government. While waiting for their issue to be taken up, the Kearnses said they heard much of other township business and want to hear more about their community.

“We’ll continue to come,” Natasha Kearns said. “We’re so interested to see what’s going on. We’re definitely in the loop.”